Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu filed a libel lawsuit Tuesday against several major Israeli news organizations and journalists over reports alleging that he received warnings from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt about an impending Hamas attack before Oct. 7, 2023.

The lawsuit names Haaretz, Yedioth Ahronoth, Channel 12 News and the Ynet website, as well as journalists Shlomi Eldar, Ruti Yuval, Uri Misgav, Nadav Eyal, Barak Ravid and Attila Somfalvi.

The reports at issue allege that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed personally warned Netanyahu that Hamas was preparing a major attack. They also claim that then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel warned Israeli officials in late September 2023 that Gaza was approaching a major escalation.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied receiving such warnings and has called the allegations fabricated. His legal filing states that no meeting or conversation took place between him and bin Zayed or between him and Kamel during the period before the Oct. 7 attack.

Netanyahu's office previously said that reviews of official records found no evidence of a telephone call between Netanyahu and the UAE president from early September 2023 through the Hamas assault.

Haaretz, which published the original allegations, has stood by its reporting. Other accounts have also provided different details about warnings delivered to Israeli officials before the attack.

A senior Middle Eastern intelligence official told Ynet that the UAE had transmitted a warning to Israel before Oct. 7 based on what the official described as a reliable source. The official did not, however, establish that bin Zayed personally delivered the warning to Netanyahu.

The Atlantic also reported that Kamel made a rare visit to Israel in late September 2023 and warned Israeli officials that Gaza was approaching an explosion. According to that account, the Egyptian warning did not identify a specific date or precise targets for an attack.

The dispute has become a major political controversy as Israel approaches its Oct. 27 election. Netanyahu's Likud party has accused the media reports of being politically motivated and intended to damage the prime minister and his government.

"The Emirates denied it, the Egyptians denied it, this is an absolute lie," Likud said in a statement.

Netanyahu's lawsuit similarly alleges that the reports were published with the goal of influencing the election. The filing describes the allegations as a "complete fabrication" and accuses the defendants of seeking personal, commercial and political benefits through what it calls malicious libel.

The lawsuit now places the competing accounts before the Israeli courts, with Netanyahu seeking to challenge the reports that he was warned personally about the impending Hamas attack.